The Pearl River Central School Board recognized the extraordinary efforts of one of the district’s transportation employees at Monday’s school board meeting.

Mendy Wood is a bus driver for the school district, Superintendent Alan Lumpkin said. Wood was transporting students from school to their homes when an animal attacked three disembarking students.

“The three students were attacked by a pit bull,” Lumpkin said. “Wood first secured the students on the school bus and then pulled the dog off the students. She then held the dog so the students could get back on the bus.”

Lumpkin said it was a tremendous effort on Wood’s part to make those split-second decisions.

Wood was awarded a certificate of recognition from the school board for her “heroic” efforts that day, Lumpkin said.

In other action board members approved:

• Brandy McGill as paid para-professional assistant football coach to replace Mr. Grays.
• Athletic staff for the 2014-2015 school year as follows: Anthony Broom as middle school athletic director, Ginger Schmidt as drama director, Thomas Lambert as cross country director, Scott Smith as middle school band director, Colby Hawthorne as head middle school football coach, Payton Ragon as head middle school boys basketball coach, Marilyn Moore as color guard sponsor, Cody Dillard as assistant high school baseball and assistant middle school football (para-professional) and Billy Davis as middle school assistant football (para-professional).
• The donation of $750 to the PRC Middle School Science Olympiad Program from Aerojet Rocketdyne at Stennis Space Center. The funds will be used to support the group’s projects, Lumpkin said.
• The anonymous donation of items for the middle school girl’s basketball team totaling $4,559. Items include, 18 Nike travel suites, 16 Nike book bags, 20 custom black socks, 20 custom pink socks, 18 Nike polo shirts, 14 Nike hyperdunk shoes and 16 Nike shooting shirts.
• The Mississippi Community Oriented Policing and SNI Nurse grant which supplements the incomes of the school police officers and school nurse, Lumpkin said.
• A request from Pearl River Central Athletic Association youth league to use the Pearl River Central High School football field for all PRCAA home games.
• A request to ask fourth grade science class parents to provide a $5 fee to purchase materials for classroom experiments.

The next school board meeting is Monday Oct. 6 at 6:30 p.m.